"Don't block it, dodge quickly!"
Manager Wang, whom Han Li held in his hand, endured the intense pain and shouted loudly, trying to warn the young prince.
Obviously, his warning came a bit late.
Hearing these words, although the young prince instinctively shifted his body sideways, trying to dodge the edge of the giant azure sword, the sword abruptly changed from a chop to a slice, lightly grazing past his leg. The black qi protecting his body was instantly slashed apart, having no effect whatsoever.
As a result, after both of his lower legs were lightly sliced off, the young prince screamed and fainted on the spot.
Having grown up pampered and accustomed to luxury, even though he was cunning, he had never suffered any hardship, so naturally he couldn't bear the excruciating pain of having his legs severed.
However, this scene startled Han Li, who thought the Green Origin sword glow had missed its mark due to not being used for a long time and had killed the opponent!
After figuring out what had happened, Han Li, feeling both amused and annoyed, picked the person up and flew towards the Four Friends of Mengshan.
Han Li was in high spirits after his great victory, but also felt a bit puzzled.
Given the dangerous sensation he initially felt from the young prince and Manager Wang, these two should have been rather difficult to deal with, yet he had captured them so easily. Was his mysterious spiritual perception starting to malfunction?
Han Li shook his head, finding it somewhat strange.
At this moment, the remaining black-robed cultivators lingering in the distance witnessed this scene and knew there was no benefit in staying here any longer. After exchanging glances, they truly scattered and fled, disappearing from sight in the blink of an eye.
Han Li had no intention of chasing. These were just peripheral figures like the Four Friends of Mengshan, not worth the effort to hunt down.
As he pondered, he flew back to the Four Friends of Mengshan and casually tossed the two captives in his hand, speaking faintly:
"Stop their bleeding, we still need to extract a confession from them!"
The youth and the second eldest among the Four Friends of Mengshan immediately stepped forward to receive the two, not daring to show the slightest negligence.
At this moment, the Four Friends of Mengshan not only showed Han Li superficial respect but also felt genuine, profound awe in their hearts. Han Li's recent display of power had left an indelible impression on them.
"Senior, your cultivation technique is truly profound! It has truly opened our eyes!" said the black-faced elder with a face full of reverence.
"It's nothing, just a minor trick!"
Seeing the awe on the faces of the Four Friends of Mengshan, Han Li felt a bit pleased inside, but outwardly he maintained an air of nonchalance, making these individuals feel that Senior Han was even more unfathomable!
Just then, several loud clangs—"clang," "clang"—rang out, causing Han Li's expression to change slightly.
The Four Friends of Mengshan quickly looked over, and the middle-aged woman among them, upon seeing clearly, immediately pointed with a panicked look and said to Han Li:
"Senior, look quickly! Your artifact!"
Han Li had already turned around and looked up. He saw the "Heaven-Shrouding Bell" that had trapped the bald giant emitting earth-shaking booms from inside while its outer surface underwent an inconceivable transformation.
With each boom, a large bulge would protrude inexplicably from the bell's wall. After a dozen or so loud clangs, the bell had become completely unrecognizable in the blink of an eye.
But what was even worse was that the yellow light on the copper bell had dimmed. The bald giant inside seemed capable of breaking out of the bell at any moment.
Han Li was shocked!
Although he didn't know why such an inconceivable phenomenon was occurring, it was obvious that the "Heaven-Shrouding Bell" could no longer contain the opponent. It seemed he would have to find another way.
Thinking of this, Han Li retracted the dozen or so artifacts hovering above his head and threw out seven or eight beast-shaped puppets, which formed a line alongside the four puppets already released, blocking in front of Han Li and the Four Friends of Mengshan.
He had just finished this when a "boom" of an explosion was heard. The "Heaven-Shrouding Bell" artifact had actually been forcefully torn apart, and from within, a creature that was neither human nor beast shot out.
"What is that?"
The middle-aged woman cried out involuntarily upon seeing it. The other three people beside her also turned pale with disbelief.
Even Han Li's eyes showed a hard-to-describe look of astonishment.
The bald giant that had leaped out had undergone complete demonic transformation.
He was now two zhang tall, with fangs bared, two pitch-black curved horns growing from his head, and a long iron tail covered in scales trailing behind him. Even more shocking was that his entire body was covered in dark red demonic patterns, concealing most of his now-naked body and emanating an indescribable aura of killing intent.
From his face, one could still faintly make out the bald giant's original appearance. But now his eyes glowed with a fierce green light, filled entirely with a thirst for blood and slaughter, without a trace of humanity. He cast a cold, icy glance at Han Li and the others, then suddenly crouched and shot forward like an arrow.
The Four Friends of Mengshan, seeing this, felt their hearts pounding with terror. Just as they were at a loss for what to do, Han Li's voice suddenly reached their ears.
"Release your artifacts!"
Following Han Li's command, the dozen or so beast puppets in front of him simultaneously opened their mouths wide, and over ten beams of light shot out in a flash, striking the demonized giant with the speed of lightning before he could defend himself, knocking him to the ground.
The Four Friends of Mengshan, seeing this, were overjoyed. Without hesitation, they released their own artifacts, furiously attacking the fallen giant, hoping to quickly dispatch this terrifying creature.
Unfortunately, their dream lasted only a moment. A surge of terrifying killing intent erupted from the giant's body, and then he leapt up in a fury. Letting all the artifacts strike his body, he was completely unharmed. This nearly made the eyes of the Four Friends of Mengshan bulge out of their heads.
The demonized giant let out a heaven-shaking roar, then suddenly waved both arms like windmills several times. The several artifacts surrounding him were instantly sliced into pieces by his incomparably sharp fingernails, turning into worthless scraps of iron.
Before the pale faces of the Four Friends of Mengshan had time to change, the green light in the demonized giant's eyes intensified. His body flickered a few times and mysteriously appeared in front of the protective barrier of Han Li and the others. He then extended a sharp claw and struck down viciously.
*Zi-la!*
The black-faced elder, quick-eyed and swift-handed, summoned the white phosphorus shield Han Li had given him, which just happened to block the strike. However, five deep claw marks were left on the shield's surface, and the elder's face turned deathly pale in an instant, clearly due to insufficient mana.
Seeing this, the giant let out a sinister laugh, and his other claw also shot towards the shield with lightning speed.
But immediately his expression changed. He forcefully retracted his claw and shrank back, crossing both arms into an X-shape in front of him.
At the same time, the second wave of light-beam attacks arrived and struck his body solidly once more.
However, this time, the prepared demonized giant was not knocked to the ground. He was only forced back over ten zhang by the powerful impact, giving the black-faced elder, who had only blocked one strike, a chance to catch his breath. He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and anxiously said to the other three:
"The opponent's attacks are too fierce. One person's mana can't withstand many. Everyone, work together to drive this shield!"
Hearing his eldest brother's words, the remaining three of the Four Friends of Mengshan placed a hand each on the elder's shoulder without hesitation and slowly channeled their spiritual energy into him.
The black-faced elder's complexion instantly regained its color.
The monster transformed from the giant, having failed twice in a row, became even more violent. As soon as the beast puppets' light beams faded, he once again bared his fangs and claws and charged forward. But once again, he was blocked by the white phosphorus shield, and then knocked back to his original position by the light beams.
Seeing this scene, Han Li furrowed his brow tightly.
Since this monster could claw through the "Heaven-Shrouding Bell" and his body could withstand the light-beam attacks from the beast puppets, it was evident that ordinary top-grade artifacts would be completely ineffective against him. He would have to use a talisman treasure.
Thinking of this, Han Li did not hesitate and issued instructions to the Four Friends of Mengshan:
"You all hold him off temporarily with the beast puppets. I need some time to cast a spell!"
After saying this, not waiting for their agreement, Han Li took out a hazy green talisman from his storage pouch, held it respectfully with both hands, sat down cross-legged, closed his eyes, and began circulating his energy.
Han Li did not explicitly mention the talisman treasure, because he knew clearly that with their status as rogue cultivators, they most likely didn't know what a talisman treasure was, and now was not the time for explanations.
His swift and decisive manner indicated that Han Li simply wouldn't tolerate any opposition from the Four Friends of Mengshan. They understood this perfectly well too, so after exchanging glances, the black-faced elder gritted his teeth and agreed.
Next, the demonized giant launched seven or eight consecutive pounces, but each time he returned crestfallen and unsuccessful.
Although Han Li's white phosphorus shield was covered in claw marks from the opponent's attacks, under the combined drive of the Four Friends of Mengshan, it successfully blocked those world-shattering claws. Then, the dozen or so beast puppets' light-beam attacks would immediately force him back a certain distance, not allowing the demonized giant to launch consecutive attacks, finally giving the Four Friends of Mengshan a brief respite.